


A Safe Place to Land

by fireroasted



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Current Events, Domestic Fluff, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:00:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24661198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fireroasted/pseuds/fireroasted
Summary: Catra knows that she is different. She knows it is difficult to exist in this world when you are different. They're fighting for change every day, but sometimes it still doesn't feel like it's enough. The bigger problem is: how do you tell your child that life isn't always fair?Domestic fluff with a dash of reality.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 118





	A Safe Place to Land

**Author's Note:**

> Before you begin, I have a few disclaimers to make. 
> 
> This story is the culmination of a lot of things that's happening in this world. My goal is to bring awareness to the intersectionality of Black Lives Matter, and how it impacts every one of us. I am of the privileged minority, being Asian-Canadian, and I do not by any means claim to be an expert on black/brown/indigenous/trans experiences. 
> 
> This story is set in a surreal sort of modern world where the characters are on earth, but Catra and Finn are still cats. Please suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride :)

Finn kneels on the couch cushion, looking out the window as they have been for a while now. Their tail swishes back and forth as they watch and listen. They can hear Mom’s footsteps in the living room, pacing back and forth, and they can hear the noise down below getting increasingly loud.

Beside Finn, a book lays open. There is a picture of the blue Earth against the impossibly black universe. There is one white moon and stars far, far away. From here, the Earth looks still. It looks simple. Peaceful. Nothing like the noise on the grey streets below.

Finn looks up briefly. The sky is grey too, and a bird passes by like any other day. Finn looks back down. It doesn’t look much like a normal day. Well, not like normal days _before._ There is a sea of people below, many dressed in bulky black clothes with plastic shields. Many more are shouting, holding signs, crying.

Finn squints out the window, hoping they could see Mommy.

They don’t see her, so they turn back to their book about space. For half a minute, they look at a picture of Mars. Then, they’re at the window again.

Everything is so confusing outside. Everyone looks so unhappy.

The only thing Finn understands is that Mommy is out there and it looks like a scary, scary place.

* * *

In the living room, Catra is getting increasingly anxious. Adora has been gone for hours, and curfew is closing in fast. She should be out there too, she thinks over and over, but Adora won’t hear it. Not since the time she’d taken a hit to the knee a few days back.

“I can’t let you get hurt again,” Adora said, her voice cracking. “We’ve come too far, been through too much for you to get hurt.”

“So _you’re_ going to get hurt? They’re not holding back, Adora, you could be killed!”

Adora smiled sadly. “I won’t. And you know why. Please, Catra. Stay for Finn.”

“Let me go out with you. We can leave Finn with Micah.”

“It’s just one day, Catra,” Adora sighed. She rubbed Catra’s arm. “I’ll be back before you know it. Besides, it might rain. You wouldn’t like that, would you, Cat?”

Catra brushed her hand away, scowling, her ear twitching. “Shut up! And stop joking around, Adora! It’s always just one day! It’s been one day every day for weeks! Why are you _always_ like this? Why can’t you stay in for once? I get that it’s the right thing to do, but aren’t you tired? I-I mean, can we just—for _one_ day—relax? Take a breath? You don’t have to try to save everybody every day, Adora!”

Adora flashed a lop-sided smile, striking a pose. “Not everyone. Just you and Finn.”

“Ugh. Be _serious_.”

“Is that the best comeback you got? That is _very_ embarrassing for you.”

“You are _such_ an idiot,” Catra growled. “Don’t you get it? I love you and I don’t want you going out there and getting hurt. How can I be clearer?”

Adora hugged her then. “It’s going to be fine,” she said with the same magnified hopefulness in her voice as she had every day. “I love you too and we are going to be okay.”

Catra buries her hands in her face. That was hours ago now and it doesn’t make her want to scream any less. Finally, she throws herself onto the couch. She would be lying if she said she isn’t sick of all this. It’s tempting to shut it all out, lock themselves in, go through their every day like nothing is wrong. But she knows why Adora insists on going out, and why Adora doesn’t want her out there too.

She is different. More than that, she is angry. Together, she is the perfect villain for their crusade, and if it were up to them, the kick to the knee would be just the beginning.

She isn’t proud of the anger she was given, isn’t proud of the way she holds onto it like a lifeline sometimes, giving it the life and power to eat her whole. She knows it’s safer for her in here, but sometimes—she clenches her fist—sometimes she just wants to punch something.

She wants to punch the memory of foster care, watching everyone else be given the world, leaving her with the scraps.

She wants to punch every job she’s ever had where she worked twice as hard and reaped half the rewards.

Sometimes, she even wants to punch Adora and every promotion she’s gotten, every smile she gets just for existing, and every man, woman, and child who sees her and doesn’t run the other way.

She loosens her fist and heaves a sigh. She leans against the backrest and stares at the ceiling. Lowly, she sinks into the couch and closes her eyes. She tries to picture the perfect day: Adora running around the living room with Finn on her shoulders. Catra chasing after them. Rolling to the floor, laughing. They would make pancakes together for breakfast, and Adora and Finn would cover themselves with flour. Catra would be upset for half a second before throwing a handful of flour at Adora’s face. Then, they’d clean it up, eat their pancakes, and nap on the living room rug with Finn squeezed between the two of them.

Outside, it would be the perfect blue-skies day. Not too hot. Not too cold. Maybe they’d have a picnic with Bow and Glimmer.

Catra smiles as the anxiety slowly leaves her. Not completely, just enough to be.

Just then, Finn pads into the room. They’re in pajamas already, and Catra can’t be prouder. Three months ago, it would’ve taken yelling, kicking, and screaming to get Finn into bed. Catra would lose her mind, threatening iPad time and snacks. Adora would sweep in and walk around, carrying Finn over her shoulder until they fell asleep. 

But the last few weeks has changed them all, and it’s as if Finn could feel it too.

“Hey, munchkin,” Catra says, opening her arm to the space beside her. Finn says nothing as they shuffle across the room and curls up against Mom. Finn purrs gently, and Catra follows suit with a smile.

“When will Mommy be home?” Finn asks, their tail swishing beside them. Catra’s tail flicks up and curls itself around Finn’s.

“Soon,” she replies, planting a light kiss on the top of Finn’s head.

“Why does Mommy have to be outside every day?” Finn asks. Catra can’t see the pout over their fluffy, blonde head, but she knows it’s there.

“Mommy is doing important things for all of us right now,” Catra sighs.

“What kind of things?”

Catra gently strokes Finn’s hair. They’ve been dreading this conversation for weeks now, but they owe it to Finn. They have their mothers’ stubbornness and willfulness. They have eyes and ears too—Adora’s inquisitive eyes and Catra’s perceptive ears. Finn is young, but they aren’t stupid.

“Well,” Catra says slowly, “do you remember when I had to pick you up early from school because you got in trouble?”

Finn’s ears flatten. “It wasn’t my fault!”

“Do you remember why you got in trouble?”

“Yeah,” Finn replies dejectedly, “I hit two big kids, and it’s not okay to hit, but—but they hit my friend _first_. _And_ they stole the thing that helps her walk because she can’t see, Mom. The stick thingy.”

Catra shakes her head. How could she forget that Finn inherited Adora’s hero complex too?

“I think you did a very brave thing,” Catra says. “Don’t tell your mom, but I would’ve liked to hit them a couple more times.”

“You told me hitting is bad,” Finn huffs.

Catra laughs. “Yes, I did. But I didn’t always feel that way. There was a time where I thought hurting people was the only way to make them see things my way. What the big kids did was wrong, but you don’t need to do the wrong thing to do a good thing.”

Finn sits up and squints at Catra. Sometimes they look so much like Adora that it scares her a little. “I don’t get it.”

“Well, what could you have done instead of hit the big kids?”

“Um, tell Ms. Perfuma first?”

“Why?”

Finn ponders for a moment. “So Ms. Perfuma can tell their moms?”

“Exactly. Ms. Perfuma would help the big kids learn that what they did was wrong. You’re not the teacher, munchie. It’s not your job to teach the bad kids.”

“Oh…but what if Ms. Perfuma doesn’t believe me? She was talking to Ms. Scorpia and she didn’t see what happened.”

“I think Ms. Perfuma would try to figure out what happened. She could talk to the kids on the playground. She could ask your friend who took her cane.”

“But she can’t see!”

“She can hear, can’t she? Maybe she can help Ms. Perfuma understand.”

Finn falls back on the couch with a dramatic sigh. “Okay…I won’t hit next time.” They sit up suddenly. “Is that why Mom is outside? Did she get in trouble for hitting?”

Catra groans. “She _better_ not.”

“Did…did Mommy get hurt?” Finn asks carefully.

“No, no, don’t worry, munchie, Mommy is fine,” Catra says quickly. “It’s a bit complicated, and I want you to listen very carefully when I explain it to you. Before I do, how about we have a snack first?”

Finn grins when Catra brushes their hair out of their face. “Cookies?” Finn asks sweetly.

Catra crosses the room and into the kitchen. “How about a baby banana?” She asks, holding up a small bunch of bananas at the doorway.

Finn falls over across the couch. “But I saw cookies in the kitchen,” they whine.

“Oh, right. Uncle Bow brought them over.”

Finn grimaces. “Aunt Glimmer didn’t make them, did she?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? You don’t like Aunt Glimmer’s baking? You’ll hurt her feelings if she found out, you know.”

Finn’s eyes are wide and round. “No! Don’t tell her, Mom. It’s just…there’s sparkles in _everything_.” They make a large sweeping gesture around their head with their arm. “ _Everything_.”

Catra chuckles and shakes her head. “Do you want this banana instead, then?”

Finn shakes their head furiously. “I’ll have the sparkly cookies,” they reply solemnly, as if they were making a monumental sacrifice.

Catra turns back into the kitchen and rolls her eyes. The smile is still wide on her face, until she sees the cookies on the counter. They’re still wrapped up in a translucent pink bag, having been dropped off only that morning.

Bow and Glimmer are out there too, she remembers, even though Glimmer was five months pregnant. All their friends were. Every day, they are out there in the hopes that their children never have to be. She glances out the door at Finn, who is playing with their own tail now.

Finn is just a baby, Catra thinks angrily. Finn shouldn’t have to be wondering where their mother goes every night and they shouldn’t be thinking about their mothers’ safety. Catra takes a deep breath. Adora is going to be fine. She ties back her hair with a hairband on her wrist. She tries not to think too hard about the day she’d been knocked down, and the horror in Finn’s eyes when they saw the bruises on her legs. No, this is too much for a child.

“We’re an interracial, queer couple,” Catra suddenly hears Netossa’s voice. “We’re going to piss someone off just by breathing. It’s not enough to be fighting for race or gender identities—it’s all connected, and it _all_ needs to change. Trouble is…once everyone loses interest in this ‘movement’, do you think it’s going to be different? This so-called _movement_ is my entire goddamn life!”

She had stood up at the dining table after a morning on the streets, angrier than anyone had ever seen her. Spinerella had taken her hand, saying nothing. When the anger passed, there was only sadness. “We just want to live our lives too, y’know? We just want to matter.”

Sheltering Finn won’t do them any favours, she reminds herself calmly. They need to understand that all of them—Finn, Catra, Adora—are different. Netossa was right—their very existence is political, and that nothing will change if they don’t fight this centuries long fight. It isn’t too much. Not when Finn has been in this fight since the moment they were born.

Catra returns to the couch with the cookies and a small smile when Finn cheers.

“Just to be clear, munchkin, this is only for tonight. I’m _not_ letting you have cookies every night,” she says, offering Finn the bag.

Finn reaches in and happily pulls out a beautiful golden-brown chocolate chip cookie. “Mommy sneaks me snacks sometime,” they say happily. “Yay, no sparklies!”

Catra raises a brow. She isn’t surprised—Adora has the will of a dandelion when it comes to the both of them. “Well Mommy isn’t supposed to. I will have a _talk_ with Mommy later.”

“When will Mommy be home?” Finn asks again.

Catra pulls a tissue from the box on the coffee table and kneels down to dab away the crumbs around Finn’s mouth.

Her reply is the same: “Soon.”

“Okay.”

Catra takes a deep breath. “Okay, munchie, do you wanna know why Mommy has to go out every day?”

Finn takes a big bite out of their cookie and nods.

Catra stays kneeling by Finn and places her hand on their knee. “The thing is, Finn, we live in a very scary world. This world is very unfair sometimes, and your Mommy and I want you to feel happy and safe no matter what. But in order to do that, we have to change the way the world works.”

Finn nods hesitatingly.

Catra bit her lip. “For example…in a perfect world, you wouldn’t have to get in trouble because those big kids would have never hurt your friend in the first place. In a better world, you would have told Ms. Perfuma and she would’ve helped you get your friend’s cane back. She would also help the big kids learn why it’s not okay to hurt others. In _our_ world, sometimes people do what you did because they know that the teacher won’t believe them. The teacher might even blame them or hurt them back. The big kids wouldn’t get in trouble at all. They might hurt other kids, and _still_ they won’t get in trouble.”

“But the two big kids got in trouble too.”

“Because your teachers thought what they did was wrong. In some places, depending on what the big kids are like, people might look the other way. Pretend they don’t see it.”

“That’s worse!”

“Yes,” Catra says, ruffling Finn’s hair as she stands. She squeezes back onto the couch and takes Finn into her lap. “But that’s exactly what Mommy is trying to fix. Right now, it isn’t safe for people who look like me and you.”

“People don’t like cats?” Finn gasps. "Is it because they have allergies?"

Catra laughs drily. “It might be because they have allergies, or they might have had a bad experience with cats. There are lots of reasons why people might not like cats. Maybe they’ll assume that all cats are bad and will bite you if they come close.”

“But I won’t bite,” Finn says, jutting out their lip. “I’m really good with not biting. Way better than other kids—Mommy said so.”

“I know that, Mommy knows that, and you know that,” Catra says poking Finn in the cheek, “but not everyone knows that. Some people think that cats are aggressive and lazy, even if they’ve never met a cat before. They might have never spoken to a cat, but they might still think those things. Sometimes, I think we might be invisible to some people. Like they don't see us but they still have this horrible idea of us in their heads."

"Wait, Mom," Finn turned up to blink their big, curious eyes at Catra. “What does agg—aggresi…fff…mean?”

“It means people think you might hurt them for no reason.”

“Why would I do that? That’s mean!”

Catra laughs. “Of course _you_ wouldn’t do that. You’re sweet Finn. But…other people don’t know you like we know you. Maybe they see what cats are like on TV or on the news and they think they know what cats are like. Some people think they'll never meet a cat, so it doesn't matter anyway, but it does because everything is connected."

Finn scrunched up their face. “Mommy is not a cat…does she think cats are mean?”

“No,” Catra says, “your Mommy loves you very much. Too much sometimes, in my opinion. Your Mommy loves me too, and because we love each other, she's had to learn a lot about what it's like to be visibly different in this world. Sometimes she makes mistakes too--neither of us are perfect, but we are learning. The important thing is, she would never think you’re mean. But other people might, because they think all cats are bad cats, and…do you wanna know a secret?”

“Ooh, a secret!”

“Here it is, munchkin: your Mom used to be...not so nice.”

Finn sits up to face their Mom. “How?” They say, their tone adorably scandalized.

“Well,” Catra says slowly, “I was very angry for a very long time because I felt like the world was very unfair. I saw that people looked at me differently than they would look at your Mommy, for example. People were scared of me or suspicious of me, even when I didn’t do anything wrong. I felt like no matter what I did, nothing seemed to matter. Being good didn’t help me, so…I did bad things. People looked at me and thought I would do bad things anyway, so why not? I hurt a lot of people, munchie, and that is a very bad feeling. I felt like I deserved all these bad feelings—because I was made wrong somehow. And the more I believed it, the angrier I felt, and the angrier I felt, the sadder I became. I am not perfect, my sweet Finn, but I am trying.”

Finn wraps their arms around Catra’s neck and buries their face in her shoulder. “You’re not a bad person, Mom,” Finn said. “You're not wrong either. And-and you matter to me!”

Catra laughs and squeezes Finn tightly. “I know that now. You and your Mommy both taught me that. But believe me, it takes a very long time. Sometimes, I still find it hard to believe that I can be a good person. That’s why, sweet Finn, your Mommy and I want to make sure _you_ don’t feel like a bad person just because everyone makes you feel like one. We want you to live in a world where people who are supposed to protect you _will_ protect you, so you can feel safe and you don’t have to worry. We want you to feel safe even if we aren’t here to protect you.”

“You won’t be here to protect me?” Finn asks quietly.

“We will, munchkin, for as long as we can. But there will be a day where we can’t protect you anymore, and even though I hope that day is far, far, far away, I want you to know that you are loved and that you matter.”

Finn sniffles, their arms tightening around Catra’s neck. “But I don’t want you to go away.”

Catra takes a deep breath, wills herself not to cry. “Your Mommy and I will be here for as long as we can be. We won’t be here forever, munchkin, but we will try our best. No matter what happens, just know that we both love you very, very much and we will love you forever and ever.”

Finn sniffles a little more. Catra strokes their hair soothingly.

They stay that way for a little longer until Finn soon falls asleep on Catra’s shoulder. She will have to move them to the bedroom soon, but Catra takes advantage of the moment to simply look at her beautiful child. She pokes their soft ear and smiles when it twitches. Finn’s blonde hair reminds her of Adora, and the day Adora declared she was going out to join the protests. Catra remembers that day well, because Adora had given Finn a terrible haircut that had since grown out and because she had been angry at Adora for both the haircut and the declaration.

“I have to go,” Adora had said, unaware that this would soon become a pattern.

“You can’t be serious,” Catra had cried. “You’re going to go out there and you’re going to get hurt. And for what? Nothing is going to change, Adora. You think they actually care about us? I’ve _been_ in that world. I’ve _fought_ my battles, and I’m done. We have a _child_ to consider now.”

“A child that is going to grow up in a world that makes them feel less-than and undeserving, Cat. Is that really what you want?”

“You can’t even _begin_ to understand what I want, Adora, so don’t you stand there and tell _me_ what I want. You’ve _never_ had to go through what I went through. You’ve never had the door slammed in your face _every. Single. Time._ You’ve never been let down over and over, until you’re nothing but anger and bitterness. And you sure as hell have never been treated like a monster for no reason, have you?”

Catra’s hair had stood on end, her tail puffed and ready to fight against anything Adora had to say. She knew she wasn’t being completely fair—not everything was smooth sailing for Adora either—but she stood by her words. Adora could never understand.

But Adora said very little. She had held Catra against her, so close she could hear her racing heart. She had stroked Catra’s hair until the emotions became more bearable, until her heartbeat slowed and Catra began to purr. “I know, Cat,” was all she said. “I know.”

Catra sweeps Finn’s hair out of their face and sighs. She knows that tonight’s conversation isn’t the first that they will have, and it will be far from the last. There is still so much fear in Finn’s beautiful eyes, so much that they are still struggling to understand. She knows too that she may never fully be able to soothe Finn’s fears. As Finn gets older, as they step into a world that she will no longer recognize, there might come a day where she will have to accept that she will never truly understand their struggles. But that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t try. Adora sure as hell would try.

As she later tucks Finn into bed with their favourite stuffed unicorn and presses a kiss to their forehead, she smiles. The world may not be perfect, but her baby reminds her that it could be. Finn’s curiosity and empathy and bravery are all the best parts of Adora, and the future is already brighter with them in it.

It might be too much for a child, she thinks again, but the world had robbed Finn from a blissfully ignorant childhood and none of them are going down without a fight.

* * *

Catra is at the door before Adora could step through it. She leaps up into Adora’s arms, nearly in tears after everything tonight.

“Catra,” Adora whispers into a sigh, squeezing her tightly.

“Hey, Adora,” Catra whispers back. She kisses her neck and purrs. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.”

When they pull away, Catra gets a good look at the weariness on Adora’s face. “I want to see Finn,” Adora says with a fragile smile.

“They fell asleep ten minutes ago. The little munchkin missed you, you know.”

Catra follows Adora into Finn’s room and smiles when Finn’s ear twitches slightly in their sleep the moment Adora kisses their forehead. “Goodnight, sweet Finn,” Adora murmurs. Catra leans her head on Adora’s shoulder, her tail wrapping gently around Adora’s waist, and for a while they both simply watch Finn sleep. Later, they will curl up in bed and talk about the world. They will talk about Finn, and they will talk about the future. But for now, they simply take in the peacefulness of Finn’s expression and allow the chaos of the day to drain from their shoulders. In this moment, they allow themselves to forget everything else and allow themselves to simply wish this peace could last forever.

Tomorrow it will be a new day. A new battle. And when tomorrow comes, the three of them will be ready to face it all together. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi all! I hope this story wasn't too heavy. I became a bit obsessed with Finn when I saw them on Twitter, but really felt like this family was the perfect conduit for this story. 
> 
> For the last few weeks, I've been frustrated by the notion that intersectionality was only being talked about by people who are "different". I've been frustrated by people in my life who are looking the other way because systematic racism is an American problem or a black and white problem. As white people become increasingly fearful of voicing their opinions, less and less conversations are being had. I was particularly inspired by a clip of Elmo and his dad talking about racism that I was sent, and I've been thinking a lot about parents being afraid to talk to their kids. I've been thinking about people being afraid to talk because they're worried they'd be called a bigot/be wrong/be challenged/whatever reason. 
> 
> The thing is, the queer community has been a white space for a very long time. You simply cannot discuss queer issues without addressing race at the same time. When I started writing fic again two years ago, I wrote for a k-pop fandom, and it was the most bizarre experience after reading about white women my whole life. Then the Runaways entered my world, and now She-Ra. I hope that there will be a time when this kind of representation no longer becomes unusual. Even if this happens, I hope the kids of tomorrow don't forget all that it took to get here. I hope too that in loving shows like She-Ra, we can extend our empathy to the real world. To real people and real stories. 
> 
> Please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments or DM me @fireroastedmoo. I'm always down to learn. 
> 
> As always, kudos, comments--it's all appreciated. 
> 
> I will be back soon with a new chapter of my Notting Hill AU :)


End file.
